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The news comes at a time when im- is often curtailed by the weather port has a negative ring to our ears. And for consumers, imports mean we Weve come to look for that "Made in have a steady supply of . SmingW the U.S.A." label on our clothes, and we But the American may expect the same of our seafood. have a different view. ln October the U.S. Commerce For him, imports mean that the guy irnports Department reported that the nation's in the boat docked next to him isn't his trade deficit for August was $12.2 only competition. billion. lnstead, he may be up against a - By Nancy Davis And seafood is a big part of that erman in Japan, a shrimp farmer in deficit. Ecuador, a trout grower in France. lf you think the shrimp you had on ln '1987 the imported "The seafood market is a global that Captain's Platter last night was $8.7 billion in seafood products. But its market now," says Lord. "Our fishermen fresh from U.S. waters, think again. total exports amounted to only $1.6 are competing in the market with ln fact, if you've had shrimp at a billion. everyone." restaurant lately, there's a good chance Those frgures place products But Tar Heel fishermen complain that it didn't come from anywhere near second only to oil as the largest factor imports sometimes dictate the prices here. in the U.S. trade deficit. they get for the catches locally. About 70 percent of the shrimp we But Lord says seafood imports are a And they're right. eat comes from fishermen and shrimp necessary evil. Lord explains the economics of im- farmers from around the world. Americans are finicky about the sea- ports with the help of the old laws of And so it is with most of our seafood. food they eat, he says. Despite the supply and demand. At 's Fulton , the wide variety of seafood that could be lf demand for seafood is high, but country's largest seafood market, much harvested from our nation's long coast- supplies are low, then prices will be of what passes through there in a day line, we re partial to a few white-fleshed high. is imported. fish such as cod, haddock and floun- lmports help to stabilize prices by in- Richard Lord, the market's informa- der. And there's lust not enough of it to creasing the supply of seafood, Lord tion officer, can't predict how much of go around. says. the average 400,000 pounds of seafood "lmports supplement domestic local "Without imports, the price would be a day comes from foreign shores. But if production of fish in high demandi' so high on some species that they'd Fulton serves as a microcosm of the Lord says. only be available for the very exclusive. U.S. seafood industry, more than 70 lmports also help maintain our sea- Therefore, imports reduce the price for percent of that fish and shellfish is im- food supply in the winter months when domestic fish," Lord says. ported, he says. For example, suppose seafood mar- We simply can't supply our demand kets offer domestic supplies of gray for fish and shellfish. sole for $10 per pound, But if the mar- According to National Marine Fish- 1987 Tbp Ten Suppliers kets can import gray sole at cheaper eries Service statistrcs, Americans are of U.S. Seafood prices, they can offer it for just $8 per eating more seafood than ever. On Value Tons pound. average, each of us ate 15.4 pounds of Without that $8-per-pound fish, the seafood last year. And that's 4.8 percent 1. Canada $1,241 374.8 domestic $1O-per-pound fish would more than we ate in 1986. 2. Mexico $476 79.7 3. Ecuador 73.6 cost consumers even more. To satiate our appetites for food from $41s 4. Taiwan $352 103.9 "Prices are market-drivenj' Lord says. the sea, we must buy from other 5. Japan $278 75.2 'A lot of people wouldn't be in business nations. 6. Korea $248 87.7 without imports. lf we only had domes- Last year the United States imported 7. Thailand $245 106.9 tic fish to sell, the prices would be so a record $5.7 billion of edible fish and 8. lceland $234 62.3 high that nobody could afford them." shellfish-$8977 million more than the 9. Norway 41.9 $197 But even sq some American fisher- record value set the year before. 10. New Zealand $140 20.8 men believe they end up competing "l don't think there's a country in the Figures are ln millions of dollars and with foreign fishermen whose operating world that produces seafood that hasn't thousands of tons for edrble fishery products. costs are lower and whose govern- exported to the United States," Lord Source: Natronal Marine Fishenes Service, ments sometimes subsidize their fleets. says. 3

Tim Parsons, operations manager shrimp, and many don't care," Schill But will the quality be as good as our with Wanchese Fish Company in says. "lf the consumer doesn't care domestic supplies? Hampton, Va., says that his company where his fish comes from, the restau- Schill doesn't think so. won't import seafood. rant owner doesn't care. They'll just go "We have excellent quality products "lmports hurt us because we're a with the lower price." here," he says. "When you go into a U.S. commercialfishing fleet. We do And more often than not, the imports restaurant, just don't say you want a not import products because we feel will cost less. shrimp dinner Say you want a North that's in direct conflict," Parsons says. Carolina shrimp dinner" I "lmporting is a necessity," says Cliff Lynch, manager of the N.C. Depart- ment of Agriculture's seafood marketing program. "But at the same time, it hurts our fishermen." ln some cases, imports have actually taken over a domestic market. Lord cites the Norwegian salmon as an example. lnitially our supply of West Coast salmon was available only in the sum- mer months. But with Norwegian im- ports, salmon became available to consumers year-round. And even though West Coast salmon still holds the edge with consumers in the West, folks on the East Coast now opt for the Norwegian variety. Seafood imports are here to stay, Lord says. Without them, consumers would have to go without some of their 15.4 pounds of seafood a year and pay more for it. But Lord believes we could reduce the level of imports by farming more species and by using a wider variety of the available in our waters. (See stories, pages 4 and 6.) And we could offset imports by ex- porting more of our catches. Lynch believes North Carolina fisher- men should investigate foreign markets, particularly Japan, as possible outlets for their catches. "The Japanese are just like kids in a candy store," he says. "They have the money, and they're going to import fish because they're such a fish-eating nation." Jerry Schill, executive director of the N.C. Association, thinks con- sumers can help reduce imports, too. "Most consumers don't know if they're eating domestic or imported a

Their prolects target commercial and recreational interests, but fisheries Casfngfot d managers agree that changes in the commercial industry will have the big gest impact. n6N catch U.S. fishermen have netted about the same number of pounds of tradrtronal food fish for 45 years. Murray says. Now most of these species are being By Sarah Friday Peters fished to capacity, To satisfy our hungel we import 70 Sea robins get no respect. percent of our seafood, says Richard You might say they're the Rodney Lord, information specialist with the Dangerfield of fish. Fulton Fish Market in . And you might as well add trigger- "We don't have the fishery resources fish, amberjack, pigfish and rays to the to supply the white{leshed fish most category, too. consumers here require," Lord says 'lf All it takes is one barbed stinger, a we could develop markets for some of spiny fin or an odd-looking shape for a the lesser-known seafoods, we'd be fisherman to shun a fish able to offset some of our imports," he The National Marine Fisheries Ser- adds vice estimates that recreational frsher- The rrony is, Lord says, that the U S men catch more than 33 million of coastlrne stretches from the Arctlc to these less favored fish each year. But of the troprcs and allows for a huge varie- the 78 species that they reel rn in the ty of seafood But European countries Southeast, they only keep about 10 or with much smaller coasts have a bigger 12, says Jim Murray, Sea Grant's variety of seafood products. Marine Advisory Service director "The point is," Murray says, "we need Anglers reject most of the other 66 to use some of that protein we're throw- species for more popular fish like ing away. grouper, redfish, snapper and Take squid butterfish dogfish and mackerel. herring, for instance. These four Commercial fishermen, too, often ig- species occur in large numbers in U.S nore certain species, calling them waters. but demand in domestic mar- trash fish,' "garbage fish,' and 'odd kets has been small, Murray says. A .'&r:..,tr - * ' * 'e- @/* I mited market means low value to the e'/:':""' t'e' ball species." The image problem comes at a time states' commercial fishermen. when consumers want more seafood than ever. And pressures on mar'ne resources are increasing to meet these demands Now a fledgling campaign hopes to gain new respect for the Dangerfields of fish. With education, supporters say, {ishermen may see these ugly duck- : lings as beautrful swans, NMFS the Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Development Foundation, Sea Grant and other fisheries and # research organizations began workinqE toward the transformation about four,!ffi years ago.

4 Nearly four years ago, NMFS recog- nized the potentialfor butterfish, squid, shark, and some tuna and herring fish- eries in the Gulf of Mexico and the Southeast. The Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries ,i# ' l;: Development Foundation also began a ..,' iE.' push for underutilized species, touting .; the virtues of species such as mullet, A butterfish and soft-shell crab. ,*fi Getting the message across is tough, but there have been successes, says Andy Kemmerer, director of NMFS's Mississippi lab in Pascagoula. So far, the lowly butterfish takes the prize. These shallow water fish, sometimes called "silver dollars," held no market value for U.S. fishermen in the Gulf five years ago. Mostly Japanese fishermen odd grapevine-pier and marina owners, harvested them there for export. you can a right good outdoor editors, tournament leaders When large concentrations of bigger price." and opinion makers And they devel fish were found further offshore, NMFS ln fact, Lewis began fishing for shark. oped a set of brochures and posters and GSAFDF helped develop markets. some this year because it was a profit- showrng how to catch, clean and cook By 1986, domestic catches of butterfish able daytime fishery. species like sea robin, mullet pigfish reached 1 million pounds per yea[ Profits don't concern Bob Emanuel and ladyfish A tournament director's Kemmerer says. Now figures range so much. The Raleigh lawyer is a week- guide, a recipe booklet and a slide pro- from 5 to 10 million pounds, says lom end fisherman who likes to catch just gran" reacheo other aud ences. Murray of GSAFDF. about anything running off Core Banks After four years, Murray rs pleased To duplicate success with other un- and Cape Lookout. with Sea Grant's efforts, A survey derutilized specres, fisheries managers But Emanuel and the rest of the showed more than 90 percent of the recommend more research on stocks country's recreational fishermen reel in people who received the materials sard and improvements in production, proc- one third of all the finfish harvested for they would keep the less popular fish essing and marketrng techniques. food in the United States. on iheir next fishlng trip But commercial fishermen say it will "Sportfishermen do have an impact "We won't turn a blue marlin fisher- take something else for them to aban- on the fisheries," Jim Murray says. man into a skate frsherman." Murray don their traditional fisheries-proof That's why he and Sea Grant re- says, "But we lust want to increase the that profits can be made. searchers Jeff Johnson and David Grif- demand for and the use of some of the Shrimpers won't start fishing for fith of East Carolina Universrty began underutilrzed species" r amberjack, and crabbers won't convert spreading the word on 16 underutilized to crawfish unless they have a money- species to Southeastern anglers. For more information on these Sea Grant publica- back guarantee. Their study of the region's anglers tions, see The Back Page. "lt's a hard thing to bend them away showed that if a fish didn't look "nor- from something they've always done," mal," it usually didn't make it to the admits lifetime fisherman "Pinky" Lewis cooler Lumps, wings, stingers, skin like of Beaufort, N.C. salamanders, spines or whiskers like For more than 40 years, he and other porcupines disqualified a fish, Murray Downeast frshermen have made a liv- says. So did puffing up and grunting. ing pulling in shrimp, spot, croaker, But one taste of triggerfish and a bite flounder and other traditional species. of bluefish convinced fishermen that When other fish land in the nets, he beauty was in the eye of the beholder. sells them. To dispel the myths and the bad rep- "You might not get much for them," utations, the team tapped the anglers' 6

He says, "The demand for seafood is ermen has led to a moratorium on one of the major driving forces behind . the interest in aquaculture in the United The reason? ruhfrowt Statesl' Some fishermen fear that farm-raised The aquaculture industry is already fish and shellfish will compete with their supplying us with about 400 million catches. thefarnt pounds of seafood a year, Hodson ln Alaska, opposition from fishermen says. That includes an estimated 25 reached such proportions that this million pounds of salmon, 280 million spring the state banned aquaculture for pounds of catfish, 40 percent of our two years. By Nancy Davis oysters and nearly 100 percent of our The controversy arose over salmon Americans are on a feeding frenzy. freshwater trout. net-pen culture. Salmon fishermen were When it comes to seafood, we're Other species he believes show afraid that the commercial culture of cleaning our plates and begging for promise are shrimp, redfish, clams and salmon would lead to an over-supply more. the hybrid striped bass. and a resulting drop in the prices they But as our appetites for fish and ln North Carolina, fish farmers have receive for their harvest of wild fish. shellfish grow more voracious, our already established a flourishing in- lronically, U.S. researchers developed harvest is remainrng about the same. dustry with mountain trout and catfish. much of the technology for salmon Does that mean we're destined to im- ln a survey of the industry here, culture. port even more seafood than we do North Carolina State University zoolo- But because of legal constraints that nov/? gist Jim Rice found that over 230 grow- have hampered the industry here, cul- Maybe not. ers were producing a wide variety of tured salmon from Norway, Canada, Last year, farm-raised fish and shell- aquaculture products. the United Kingdom and Japan domi- fish accounted for 14 percent of our But even for all the talk of aquacul- nate our market. seafood supply. And some experts pre- ture saving us from imports, Hodson The result is that the Alaskan fisher- dict that by the turn of the century, fish tempers his enthusiasm with concern men are already competing with fish farmers will supply 25 percent of the over some obstacles that must be farmers, Hodson says. But the competi- world supply. overcome. tion rs coming from foreign imports of Ron Hodson, Sea Grant's associate Aquaculture has met with some op- farm-raised salmon. director and head of the program's position, he says. Hodson believes that commercral aquaculture research, agrees that Frequently, fish farmers face legal fishing and aquaculture can actually everything points to aquaculture play- and regulatory constraints. Often the work together to build markets and ing a big part in meeting future de- laws were rntended to regulate wild stabilize seafood supplies and prices. mand for seafood. catches, but end up inhibiting the sale Aquaculturists will market their prod- ft' , *i' of farm-raised species. ucts when they can get the best prices, And in one state, opposition by fish- Hodson says. And that's when wild catches are not available. By selling the farmed product at other times of the year, it should main- mr;; tain a higher price overall, Hodson -{1%.;,f says. 3q 'Aquaculture is not a competing tle forcej' Hodson says, "lt can be a stabi- i,i-.n *i2ing force. We want to stabilize prices s+"Eve can predict what we can get for I *Uf producL' r { TIID B/I()KI?I(ilI

"The Back Page" is cttt. update on Sea low-, medium- and high-relief reefs on a .5 percent, and beefand veal consump- Grant actiuitie s-ott researclz. marine Loran grid. And it depicts the small tion declined 1.8 percent. edttcation and aduisory seruices. It's plants and animals that attract gamefish also a good place to fird out about such as snapper, grouper and sea bass. meetin.gs, ruorkshops an d neto publica- For a copy of the Hardbottoms map, Between North Caro- tiotts. For m,ore inJormation, on an,y of rvrite Sea Grant. Ask for UNC- iina's mainland and the the projects described, contact the Sea SG-86-25. The cost is $5. Outer Banks lies one of Ca'ant oJfices itt, Raleigh (9 1 9/7 3 7-21t5L). the nationh largest estu- For copies of publications, rurite UNC arine systems. Once it teemed with healthy Sea Grant,,^/CSU, Bor 8605, Ral,eigh,, Try out a nerv taste in '{]r/ N.C. 27695-8605. fish by catching Sea grasses, young fish and Grant's 16 non-traditional other types of marine iife. fish brochures. These col- Norv that productivity is threatened- your generosity Thanks to the Oc- orful pamphiets feature so much so that the Albemarle-Pamlico tober and the NovemberA)ecember underutilized species sound system was the first officially printed issues of Coastwatch were from Gulf and South At- designated "Estuary of National your with the help of donations. lantic waters. And they describe how to Concern." The staff of C oastwatc h appreciates catch, clean and prepare the fish. Tb combat declining fish populations, your continued support. Recipes are also included. pollution and other symptoms, the N.C. Series 1 includes: UNC-SG-85-09 to Department of Natural Resources and Community Development and the Envi- decacles, fisher- UNC-SG-85-18 (amberjack, sea robin, For ronmental Protection Agency began a men have known the skates and rays, triggerfish, panfish, fi ve-year Albemarle-Pamlico E stuarine under- jack crevalle, shark, sheepshead, bonito secrets ofthe rich Study. ll,ater reefs on North and croaker); Series 2 includes: UNC- SG-86-13 to UNC-SG-86-18 &iack drum, Sea Grant recently received $230,079 Carolina's continental from EPA to fund four projects in the shelf. Sea Grant bluefish,ladfish, mullet, pigfish and sea Now second year of the study. scientists are exploring catfish). Each series costs $1. Researchers R.W. Skaggs and J.W. riches of another kind there. Rc,cipes ruith, u N elo C atch is a 4}-page Gilliam of N.C. State University will be Geologists Stan Riggs, Scott Snyder cookbook chocked full of delicious investigating land use in the watershed and A1 Hine have been searching the recipes for cooking underutiiized fish. Shark creole, buttermilk-fried croaker and how it affects estuarine water bottomlands called "hardgrounds" for quality. phosphate deposits and other minerals. filiek and grilled triggerfish r,vith wine NCSU oceanographer Len Pietrafesa quartz gravels, sauce are just three of the 56 dishes in- Phosphates, shell and plans to study the links between the gold and uranium are important re- cluded. tr'or a copy, send $2 to Sea Grant. Albemarie and the Pamlico and other source minerals for the United States. Ask for UNC-SG-86-06. bodies ofwater that surround them for But the extent and potential value of For a new twist in fishing tourna- a better understanding of the estuary's these minerals, especially phosphate, on ments, directors may want to scan [/sin.g productivity and water quality. the continental shelfhas been unknorn n. Nontraditional Fish in, Saltwat,er Ed Noga of NCSU's Schooi of Veteri Recently the Sea Grant team discov- Sportlishing Tountcr"ments. The 20- narv Science is taking a look at a disease ered eight units ofphosphate reserves page booklet tells how amberjack and that's caused a four-year decline of blue in Onslow Bay that they estimate hold other species can be used for tourna- crab in the Albemarle-Pamlico and its 20,752.5 million tons of phosphate con- ments and demonstrates some of the relation to the environment. centrate. The approximate worth is alternative-q available to organizers For And Walter Clark, Sea Grant's coastal billion, says Sea Grant Director B.J. a free copy, wlite Sea Grant, and ask for $1 Iaw specialist, will develop a pilot pro- Copeland. UNC-SG-86-05. gram, using a county surrounding the Riggs and mapped the hard- Snyder Albemarle-Pamlico estuary, that will grounds and determined their deposi For the fifth straightyear, Americans help in managing multiple uses of public tional history. And U.S. Minerals ate more and shellfish ever the fish than trust waters. Management Service evaluated the de- before. On average, we consumed 15.4 posit's economic potential and approved pounds of seafood in 1987-4.8 percent APPS announced its third Call for of mining it if necessary. more than in 1986. in the past five years, Proposals on Nov. 18. It is seeking Until then, fishermen can reach these U.S. seafood consumption has increased research and public involvement proj- 25 percent. poultry con- underwater fish havens with the help of By comparison, ects that will lead to an effective conser- a map devised by Sea Grant's research- sumption was up 2Spercentforthe same vation management plan for the ers. The large, four-color map charts period. Pork consumption only grew by Cort.tintLed ott ttett page Albemarle-Pamlico region. Robert E. Holman expects funds from Coastu:atch is a free neusletter. If you'd like to be added to the maiiing list, fill out this form NRCD and EPAto total about $1.2 mil- and send it to Sea Grant, Box 8605, NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-8605. lion for the third year of the study. Name Deadline for proposals is 5 p.m., Jan. 13, 1989. No proposals u,ill be ac- Address cepted after this date. For more information, write Holman CitylStatclZip Code at NRCD/Albemarle-Pamlico E stuarine Tb help us specialize our services, please answer these questions. Study,512 N. Salisburv Street, P.O. Box 27687, Raieigh, N.C. 27611. I am in the follou,ing line of work: Boatbuilding/repair Marina operator - - Coostruatch is published monthly ex- City/County government Marine recreation cept July and December by the Univer- - - Mass media sity of North Carolina SeaGrznt College - Educator - Seafood processing/marketing Program, 105 1911 Building, Box 8605, - Farming - State government North Caroiina State University, Ra- - Homemaker - University professor/researcher leigh, N.C.27695-8605. Vol. 15, No. 10, - Lawyer - Other November/December 1988. Dr: B.J. - editor". - Copeland, director. Kathy Hart, Coastal property owner: yes no Boat owner yes no Nancy Davis and Sarah Friday Peters, - - - - staff rvriters. $- contribution to defray printing costs for Coast.watch

l[as']$lu'cH Nonprofit Organization U. S, Postage 105 1911 Building PAID Box 8605 Raleigh, N.C. Permit No. North Carolina State University 896 Raleigh, NC 27695-8605

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